1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the diagnosis of truncal musculature, and in particular, to a method of assessing posture and body movements using ultrasonic transducers to measure the running time of ultrasonic waves.
2. Related Art
For various medical applications, e.g., the diagnosis of truncal musculature, the method for the operant conditioning of subject's posture using biofeedback, the measurement of the joint angular position and the gait analysis, :it is necessary to assess the posture and limb movements.
For these tasks devices of mechanic (U.S. 50 82 002, DD 251 075, EP 0154 102 A2), optic, electromagnetic (DE-OS 1 541 180, DE 2 715 106) and ultrasonic (WO 86/03 392 A1) bases are used.
All these known systems for the assessment of posture and limb positions as well as its movements have several significant drawbacks. For example, requiring a great apparatus display (optic systems), demanding sensors fixed in the room (ultrasonic and electromagnetic systems), allowing only a global evaluation of several posture parameters which are measured combined (cables extending longitudinally around the trunk to measure the spinal length), to be bulky and uncomfortable during application to the body, or easily to be damaged mechanically.